paint pop

Just a touch a paint and a smear of bravery and these warm, white spaces are set for life with the perfect pop of cheerful color.

I could really use a pop of cheer after spending my entire afternoon on the phone with insurance providers and doctors offices trying to get my follow-up appointment set up, only to discover that they'd already booked me for an appointment this morning at nine and I missed it because no one bothered to tell me. Sigh. Keeping my fingers crossed they can squeeze me in next Monday. Because it makes sense for doctors to only work on Mondays, right?

Hope your day is more productive than mine! 

For the love of {rainbow stairs}

When this broken leg is healed and I'm back to my regular energy level, Phillip and I plan to tackle a small flight of stairs that are currently completely unfinished and disgusting. I've read a few DIY accounts on how to refinish them myself, and I am thinking pretty stained wood steps with white risers. 

But if, someday, I have stairs going up to the attic where a kid lives, or perhaps down into a basement, or outside in a fun backyard, you can bet I will be painting the risers in rainbow brights! My very favorites are the white walls with colored risers and wood steps. They are just so unexpected and cool.

I showed these pictures to Phillip and asked if we can paint our stair risers bright colors, or even just one bright color, and he just gave me the side eye. Someday, I will convince him. Just you wait and see.

Would you ever paint your risers a bright color? Do any of you have an appropriate set of stairs for this madness?

Happy {cha-cha} Weekend

Sometimes it definitely feels like we've taken a step back. Our kitchen has been covered in drywall dust and black tarp for the past week or more, but we're finally almost finished retexturing the walls! Freshly painted kitchen, here we come!

I'm going home to visit family (and friends, especially a brand-new little someone) and I won't be around next week.

I hope you all have a wonderfully optomistic weekend!

Watercolour

 

1001 Colours by Anca Costache

 

I love this birdy. He's from here.

I cannot find a source for this one, so if you know, tell me!
I don't even know how to put into words how much I love these watercoulour paintings! I am a fair hand at drawing in charcoal and pastel, but the art of watercolour eludes me. I think it requires an amazing amount of control, and yet a huge amount of freedom, and I cannot get the balance right! I generally end up with colors smeared together in a muddy mess. But these images inspire me to try, try again. Wouldn't you love to have one of these on your wall?!

House update, happy weekend, and ramblings

Hello, hello!

Sorry to disappear for a few days, it's been nuts around here, as I'm sure you can imagine! The move went off pretty smoothly, but with very little sleep, several crazy appointments, two weeks of obnoxious contractor problems, and a few fun adventures, I haven't had much time to think, much less blog.

I am so grateful to you all for your sweet comments on my last post, it means the world to me to know that you are thinking of and praying for me. I will definitely be praying for all of you and thanking God for you!

But now, on to other things!

Here's a small portion of my mantle. I painted it shiny black one day to get rid of the horrible horrible 70's brown paint that was there before. I think I like the black, and I'll like it even more once I get this room painted white instead of circus peanut yellow. 

The mantle is HUGE, going all the way across this end of the room, so decorating it is going to be a chore - I'm still learning a lot when it comes to styling the mantle, since I've never had one before! There was an old nail in the brick, so I hung up an old empty frame and threw up a plant and a tiny little picture from the thrift store. At least it's no longer empty, progress I guess.

Also, there's this. This is my "kitchen" right now. 

Dishes and food are thrown willy-nilly on those shelves, the little drawered cabinet holds utensils and such, and there's a place for the coffee pot. Cooking has been crazy lately, we've grilled almost every night and I've managed to steam veggies and make rice in the electric rice cooker. We don't even own a microwave, but we did get the fridge plugged in (all the way across the house in the dining room) so we haven't been suffering too much! Doing dishes is a pain in the bathroom sink, but I have a new plan to destroy the environment and use paper plates for a while. I know. I'm lazy.

I'd show you the kitchen "progress," but there hasn't been any visible change, except that they took up the floorboards, moved around the pipes and gas lines etc, and put them back down. Also, there are more holes in the walls. However, we should be able to start putting the drywall back up this weekend and maybe even lay down the flooring! Hurrah! 

My in-laws are coming to town this afternoon to help us work on the house, and I'm very excited to see them and grateful that they're coming to work! I like helpful people ;) 

I hope you all have a happy weekend! I'll be working on the house, hopefully make enough progress to show you something next week, and then probably spending as much time as possible in my back yard. That's where the real magic is. 

{pick one}

                                                                            Source: skonahem.com via Daniella on Pinterest

                                                                       Source: theaestate.tumblr.com via Daniella on Pinterest

This post is an ode to indecision.

My husband loves me, I know, but I can tell when I'm driving him nuts. It's almost always due to indecision on my part. I hate picking a restaurant, a movie, even choosing a drink at Starbucks is difficult for me. My tastes are so extremely varied. It's a good thing, I tell myself, that I have such a wide variety of favorites, that so many different styles and flavors appeal to me. But it's not always a good thing, like when we waste gas driving around and around because I can't decide whether I'd rather have hamburgers or Thai food. 

My older sister, who is obviously about my oldest and closest friend, was complaining to me at Christmas that I'm really hard to shop for. How can that be? I love pretty much everything! When I go shopping or internet exploring, there are so very many things I am just dying to posses. I can't afford to buy even a smidgen of the items I adore. But I know she's right. I love almost everything, but at the same time I'm picky and I know I make it difficult to shop for me.

I love looking back through my inspiration folders and Pinterest boards, because sometimes the most unusual things end up sitting right next to each other, and the contrast really strikes me. What moods was I in when I pinned these two bedrooms? Both are completely funky, but in such very, very different ways. And it makes me wonder if my style is ever going to stop evolving, if I'm ever going to settle on one favorite color, one favorite style. Am I ever going to get decisive when it comes to home decor? 

Right now I've been vaguely contemplating paint colors for my future home, and so far the only colors I've come up with are white and black. Because I don't know what else to choose, there are too many options, and I don't want to lock myself in! And when I look at the second picture above, I think "ah, white, definitely perfect for every room, so bright and light and neutral." But then I look back at the first picture, and my dark side takes over and demands dark colors, bohemian curtains, and dramatic patterns. 

Will I ever really settle? Will the decisions ever get any easier?

How about you? Do you have a fairly stable sense of style, or are you a manic decorator like me? 

If you could pick one, which one would it be?

Inspired by {black&white}

                                                                        Source: styleessentials.tumblr.com via Daniella on Pinterest

                                                                   Source: littlewintermarket.com via Daniella on Pinterest

                                                                              Source: emmas.blogg.se via Daniella on Pinterest

                                                                    Source: aperfectkindofday.com via Daniella on Pinterest

                                                                             Source: nerochronicles.com via Daniella on Pinterest

                                                                     Source: citified.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

I've been giving a lot of thought to black and white spaces. I don't really suffer from a lack of color in my life, and I love the way black and white basics can give such a solid foundation to colorful details. I especially love the shiny black paneling in the first picture and the black stairs in the second to last. But a lot of the time, black and white are reserved for bedrooms or bathrooms. What do you think about shiny black and white in the living spaces of your home? 

Craft day

                                                                                   Source: google.ie via Daniella on Pinterest

Today I'm back to crafting like crazy as I try to get all of my Christmas presents done before going to Albuquerque next week. I have at least 3 crafts going at once right now (because I have to wait on paint to dry and such) and my pointer finger is both bruised and burned, but so far its been a productive day. What are you up to on this fine Tuesday? 

Neon makes me smile

via la dolce vita

This room makes me smile.

I love the bright, bright colors. Neon is kind of trendy right now. 

Neon by DaniellaHouk featuring hair bows accessories

Do you love it or hate it?

Little bit of blue

It's amazing what a little bit of the right light blue paint can do...

via sfgirlbybay

via mfamb

via caitlin wilson

I am in love with these rooms!

Of course, the touches of red (gorgeous, gorgeous chandelier especially) aren't hurting these spaces!

I hope your Monday was just the right shade of blue!

Dark

Normally, I tend to feel that lighter paint colors work best for walls. I guess I have a tendency to believe that, if the paint is too dark, the room will shrink and become cavelike and ugly. I don't know why this misconception stays with me, but I am honestly a little scared of dark paint colors. I love them, I stare at them on the paint chips, and then I talk myself out of them. Which is probably a good thing. I don't think I'm really experienced enough to pull that off. But my oh my, these designers sure did!

via la dolce vita

via pink wallpaper

I absolutely adore these dark, brooding, comforting rooms. I would live happily and comfortably in any of them. Especially today, dark rooms are really appealing to me. What do you think? Have you ever tried a really dark paint color? Was it a success or a failure? Would you ever dare to go this dark?

Black Pattern

via gathering spriggs

via plush palate

via mfamb

I love how a creative black pattern can turn these white, ordinary spaces into something eye-catching and unique. Somebody please paint big black flowers on my bedroom ceiling!

Friday!!

Welcome to Friday, everyone! Aren't you glad its here? All I really have for today is this very cool idea for dresser paint. What do you think?

via down and out chic

Have a great and glamorous 3-day weekend!

Dresser Remake

In the garage, I have a big, ugly black dresser that I got from Goodwill for $20. The paint is scabby and gross and most of the handles have fallen off or are hanging from one side. But I have a dream of sanding it down and painting it up and using it as a TV stand. Then I would have drawers and drawers of storage for DVDs etc. I would love for them to be hidden away but still accessible. But I haven't really decided what color to paint it. Black or white or colorful? Subtle or wild? High gloss or flat? Ahh the choices! So I went to the interwebs searching for inspiration, and I found so many choices that I am even more ovewhelmed now than before. So vote now on your favorites! I need all the help I can get ;)

This is a good mix of exciting and subtle, but it might be hard to do it myself.

decorology

blueprint bliss

sf girl by bay

gray is definitey a possibility

gathering spriggs

la dolce vita

White is also a very good option, since it is versatile and subtle and classic. 

newlywed diaries

gathering spriggs

manolo for the home

Black is good because it is also versatile and classic. But glossy or flat paint? And I really want to paint the master bedroom dresser black, so would that be too many black dressers??

 gathering spriggs

odi et amo

down and out chic

Oh my! The bright colors! These are pretty cool! I love them all, but I'm just not sure a color will work in my living room at present. And as my mom so wisely pointed out, this is a fad that will probably be out in about a year, and there will be people all over the design world with brightly colored and very "out" dressers. And I don't want to be one of them ;)

from the right bank

my little happy place

odi et amo

Oh my, I LOVE the glamour of these glossy, shiny, metalic chests. But I'm afraid it would look cheap if I try to do it myself. The only way to keep it from looking cheap would be to buy really really expensive paint, and that defeats the purpose of the cheap-o used dresser.

beauty comma

french bedroom company

Ah! Stripes! So. Many. Choices.

Anyway, the option I am actually the closest to choosing is not picutred (sorry, couldn't find anything similar). I am leaning towards a really glossy, really dark navy blue. I think it would still come across as a neutral, would be semi-unique, and would still work with all the other furniture in the room. What do you think??